Chapter 469
Su Chunjun went to the newspaper to remove the missing person notice, and on the way back, he turned to the famous restaurant and made a reservation, intending to take everyone out for a good meal in the evening to celebrate.
After he returned to the hotel, Zhu Yuyan and Dai Yucan also exchanged news from both sides, summarizing that both sides were in danger.
Zhu Yuyan heard that Dai Yuchan’s job is to translate manuscripts for publishers, and suddenly felt that this is something they can also do! And they could take the opportunity to do some more important translations!
She said to Dai Yuchan, “When you translate manuscripts, you can turn over more academic books, scientific inventions and the like.”
Both sides had patriotic fervor, especially Shi Wuwei and Dai Yucan who were forced to leave their country by their family and friends, they had always embraced the passion to save the country but had no place to release it, as soon as they heard Zhu Yuyan’s words, they immediately understood!
The things they translated could definitely help the country!
Dai Yuchan immediately said, “Right! I have many collected speeches there, and this can all be translated! I can also tell the people in the world who care about China, so they can help China too!”
Shi Wuwei is also thinking about what channels he has to get more information to help China.
Zhu Yuyan: “We are abroad, but it doesn’t mean we are not patriotic and we can’t help our country. We can still use our own power to help her.”
This is like a shot in the arm for Dai Yuchan and Shi Wuwei, making them more energized after seeing their loved ones.
They also found a direction to work for in the future.
When Su Chunjun returned, the four of them joyfully got ready to go to dinner together.
Of course, before dinner, the four people first went shopping, walked on the road, and strolled through the park.
There were many beggars on the road, more women than men, and women with small children were the most numerous. They nestled under trees, or under walls, in the park.
Because there are so many beggars, there are not so many kind people who give them alms.
At this time most people do not have extra money, they pass by the beggars are shrinking their necks and hurry past, will not stop for them. Because of the conversion of agriculture into industry, many peasants from the countryside went to the city to look for work, while the workers in the factories were crowded out by a large number of slaves, unemployed workers and unemployed peasants were gathered in the city.
In contrast to this, there were new factories every day, and new advertisements in the newspapers.
Charitable organizations and churches had soup kitchens where food and clothing were given out, and whenever you saw a long line of many sullen-faced people on the street, either lining up for free food or lining up to apply for a job.
Nowadays, whenever there is a job offer for a job in the newspaper, the queue can be two or three blocks long.
The girls lining up to be recruited for jobs all tried their best to wear their prettiest clothes, and some even made an effort to put on makeup; they were all trying their best to figure out how to survive.
Zhu Yuyan felt an overwhelming sense of absurdity as she watched this strange and ironic scene.
The life of the nationals of the country that was invaded and the country that invaded others was surprisingly not much different, the same lack of food, the same lack of work, the same streets full of beggars and corpses.
Daiyu Cicada took her hand and whispered, “Our current income can’t support us either.” They were able to live so well all because of the jewelry and savings that Zhu Yanshu had asked her to take with her when she left the country at that time.
Because although they were constantly translating manuscripts and their daily life was not extravagant, the couple had a money-burning hobby: reading.
Nowadays, books are very expensive and not cheap at all. This is the only hobby left for both husband and wife, so they have to spend more money on it. They restrain themselves, each month only one person can buy two books, and then the two people switch to read, equal to a month can read four new books, and the old books do not buy new books until finished.
Even so, they were already preparing to hit the third bookcase.
Zhu Yuyan asked her, “How much money do you have left now?”
Dai Yuchan: “About four thousand pounds.” She reacted and immediately said, “Are you guys out of cash? I’ll give it to you!”
Zhu Yuyan was also not polite as she said, “I still have some francs. These are still not enough, and you guys need money too. We need to think of a way to see if we can find a place to cash in some money.”
Dai Yuchan: “Banks can cash in money.”
Zhu Yuyan shook her head, “Finding a bank to cash money is easy to be targeted, we need something a little more private and free.”
The four of them ate the richest meal in a while at the restaurant.
Zhu Yuyan sliced the roasted pigeon and said, “That’s great, you don’t know, I’ve been eating stewed potatoes with butter for a while now, I haven’t eaten meat for a long time.”
Su Chunjun: “I ate fish all the time at sea, I can’t say they were very good.” For a while he suspected that people in places other than China don’t gut fish when they cook it.
Shi Wuwei and Dai Yucan’s recipes were a little better; they were in the countryside and would grow some vegetables.
Dai Yuchan: “Wuwei would grow vegetables, and most of us would eat beets, beans, and carrots.”
But meat is still rare.
Dai Yuchan: “Occasionally we would buy some bacon. You can’t buy too much, it’s not convenient to buy things in the countryside.”
Zhu Yuyan listened with great envy and said, “I want to live in a house in the countryside in the future, one where I can grow vegetables.”
After suffering from insufficient supplies for several years, all she dreamed of was to satisfy her appetite first, to be able to eat delicious food to her heart’s content, to eat meat when she wanted to, and to eat rice when she wanted to.
With the experience of starving and suffering, this dinner was more than perfect.
After dinner, the four of them returned to the inn. Dai Yuchan and Shi Wuwei also booked a room at the inn to stay in, the four of them talked about midnight, and early the next morning, Shi Wuwei took Dai Yuchan out to look for a place where they could cash in their money.
They first cashed the francs in Zhu Yuyan’s hand into pounds.
Then they discussed how to get more cash.
Zhu Yuyan said, “Let’s sell a piece of jewelry.”
This is the fastest way.
This sentence could only be said by her.
All four people actually knew that selling a piece of jewelry was the fastest and best way, but neither Shi Wuwei nor Su Chunjun would mention it because it was the Zhu family’s jewelry.
As for Dai Yucchan, although she understood that selling the jewelry was the right thing to do, her character made her more than happy to go ahead and commit herself to selling the Zhu family’s jewelry, unless one person was sick and needed to be rescued immediately right now, she wouldn’t sell the jewelry until she couldn’t eat.
After Zhu Yuyan thought about it, she decided that she would be the one to open this mouth.
In fact, her heart is also very difficult.
Although she knew that Zhu Yanshu gave them the jewelry just to let them have an emergency and turn the jewelry into money when necessary. But after leaving Zhu Yanshu, she invariably took these jewels as Zhu Yanshu’s incarnation.
Selling one piece of jewelry is like losing a “souvenir” with her own hands.
This feeling is too torturous, will be full of guilt, will be incomparable regret, even if it is not sold, she began to regret, and she knows very well, she will regret for a lifetime for selling jewelry.
Because now in this era, sold jewelry means it is almost impossible to get back, it will disappear in the sea of people, and will never come back to them.
As soon as Dai Yu Cicada saw Zhu Yu Yan speak up, she immediately agreed: “I agree.”
She gripped Zhu Yuyan’s hand tightly, regretting that she was the one to open her mouth, she should have thought that with Yan Yan’s character, she would definitely be the first one to open her mouth, Yan Yan has always been like this, she has always been the first one to stand up when everyone else backs off.
She has always been the first one to stand up when everyone is backing down. Dai Yu Cicada has always felt that she is not brave enough and lacks courage, and she thought that she has changed since she came here, but now after meeting Yan Yan, she realized that she is still not brave enough, and she should have opened her mouth in front of Yan Yan, and shouldn’t have left it to her to say this word.
Dai Yu Cicada said, “I think selling the jewelry now is the fastest way.”
Both sisters agreed, and both Shi Wuwei and Su Chunjun were fine with it.
Su Chunjun said, “I think it’s fine.”
Shi Wuwei looked at everyone and said, “I have a way to sell it, the price won’t be low, and I’m not afraid of the other party running away and cheating us.”
The other three look at him.
Su Chunjun: “Impressive, Big Head.”
Shi Wuwei gave him a blank look and said, “I’m the young master of Tehran, I have no money to spend, isn’t it normal to sell a piece of jewelry?”
It was indeed normal.
The four of them arrived in London together.
Shi Wuwei wrote a bunch of letters and sent them out, and finally two people wrote back to him, willing to provide him with proof and introduce him to a club.
He was in there for two days before he found someone willing to act as a go-between for him to sell the jewelry.
“I’d say that’s not very wise. You know what you are selling, don’t you?” The merchant said.
Shi Wuwei cherished the jeweled ring in his hand as he resolutely placed it on the table, “Yes, I know. I regret it, and I’m starting to regret it now.”
That merchant shook his head and gently picked it up, holding it up with his handkerchief. It was a very beautiful sapphire ring, the cut of the egg shaped sapphire right in the center was less than perfect, it would need to be recut by a good smith, it would be much more eye catching.
The merchant said, “I am willing to offer eighty thousand pounds.”
Shi Wuwei immediately took the ring back, “I think I can wait a little longer.”
The merchant took his hand: “Wait, it’s impossible for anyone to offer more than me.”
Shi Wuwei: “I’ve been rethinking it again, and I think I can wait until the end of the year so I can borrow a sum of money so I don’t have to sell it.”
Merchant: “One hundred thousand dollars.”
Shi Wuwei: “No, no, sir, I regret it, I really regret it, I can’t sell it.”
Merchant: “One hundred and fifty thousand!”
Finally, Shi Wuwei sold the ring for one hundred and eighty thousand pounds.
The merchant could only pay eighty thousand pounds up front and cashed in the rest in US dollars.
When Shi Wuwei returned with his suitcase, Zhu Yuyan and Su Chunjun were stunned.
Only Dai Yuchan was not surprised.
She said, “If you had seen how he dealt with people in church, you wouldn’t be surprised either.”
She had always felt that Shi Wuwei had a pure face and a gullible air; he was like an honest child, and anyone who saw him would think so. But such a man would have been even more so if he had had the heart of a substitute professor.
It was because of Shi Wuwei’s pure and simple temperament that the country priest who was willing to take them in dared to charge money and let them, two fellows without sufficient identification, stay.
The four of them split the money as equally as possible, and since US dollars were more useful to Su Chunjun, Zhu Yuyan and Su Chunjun took more US dollars. While Shi Wuwei and Dai Yuchan were more likely to stay in England, they took more pounds.
They reunited briefly for a few days before parting again.
Su Chunjun and Zhu Yuyan planned to settle in London for the time being. And Shi Wuwei and Dai Yuchan had to return to the countryside.
They can’t live together.
Dai Yuchan asks Zhu Yuyan if she wants to see Julie Jin.
Zhu Yuyan: “Is she okay?”
Dai Yuchan: “I think, she doesn’t seem to have much will to live.”
Of course Jin Juli was still alive, but she didn’t seem to have much interest in life. Dai Yuchan visited her many times.
“She’s just alive right now, merely alive.”
Zhu Yuyan thought about it and shook her head, “It’s best if I don’t go see her.”
Right now, even if the Japanese were to pursue her, they would only pursue her, the sight they put on Jin Juli was very little. As long as they don’t associate the two of them, Jin Juli can remain outside the blind spot of the Japanese’s capture.
Zhu Yuyan: “Take a message to her for me, just say, we will definitely meet again later.”